Friday, July 22, 2016

By VIREN VARMA DUBAI— Rising
MENA Golf Tour star and UAE’s number one amateur Rayhan Thomas flashed a
glimpse of his precocious talent, winning the weather-hit Scottish U18 boys' open amateur stroke-play title at Lanark, the 25th oldest golf club in the world, on
Thursday.

The 16-year-old Dubai-based prodigy, who is
supported by the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, defeated Australia’s Ben
Ferguson at the second play-off hole with a par after the pair finished tied at
the top on five under.

Thomas, who plays off a plus two handicap,
had his chances to seal the deal in regulation play, but a bogey on the closing
par-3 hole extended his wait in an event which was reduced to 54 holes after
lightning storms forced cancellation of play on Wednesday.

“This is a good event to win, as Scotland has
some of the best under-18 players,” said Thomas, who is currently on a
five-week tour of the UK which culminates in him playing at the British boys' open amateur championship at
Muirfield.

“It’s too hot to play in Dubai in the summer
so I thought ‘why not try Scotland?’ This is one of the biggest events I’ve
won, as I also won the Qatar Amateur in January and went on to play in the
Qatar Masters on the European Tour which was a great experience.”

Thomas opened with a one-under 69 and backed
it up with a neat 66, which was highlighted by three birdies on the bogey-free front
nine, before forcing a playoff with a final round 70.

“This win shows I am improving with every
tournament and that makes me feel proud,” said Thomas, a two-time runner-up on
the MENA Golf Tour.

“I’ve been playing quite well on the MENA
Golf Tour and that has added to my confidence. I am doing a lot of good work to
make sure everything is in good shape,” said Thomas, who hails from the
southern Indian state of Kerala.